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PRODUCT SUITE

MAY 31, 2013

iBwave Product Suite | White Paper

CONTENTS
CONTENTS

INCREASING WIRELESS DEMAND ON THE HORIZON

CURRENT CHALLENGES

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

4
4
4
5
5

IN-BUILDING DATA IS SCATTERED AND DISORGANIZED

PROJECT LEADS LACK TOOLS TO TRACK PROGRESS
LACK OF BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES CAUSES INEFFICIENCIES
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COLLABORATION IS TEDIOUS
RESOURCE UTILIZATION IS NOT OPTIMIZED

IBWAVE VALUE PROPOSITION

1.
2.
3.
4.

6
6
7
7

IBWAVE UNITY
IBWAVE DESIGN
IBWAVE MOBILE

INTEGRATED PORTFOLIO

PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AND COST BENEFITS

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
REDUCE MANAGEMENT OVERHEAD
CONTROL COSTS AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
ENSURE PROJECT QUALITY AND REDUCE CHURN RATE
REDUCE PROJECT ACCEPTANCE CYCLE
REDUCE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

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INCREASING WIRELESS DEMAND ON THE HORIZON

The smartphone is becoming ubiquitous and the increasing influence of social media platforms in
everyday life has accelerated the adoption of connected smartphones and tablets, driving the demand for
anytime, anywhere connectivity. This has resulted in a rise of in-building projects and deployments in
order to get closer to the mobile subscribers, whether by introducing new technologies or improving
capacity for the ever-increasing bandwidth demands. As shown in the accompanying figures, mobile data
demand is growing at a phenomenal pace. Social networks and rich mobile web experiences demand
constant connectivity for content updates and many popular gatherings such as stadium concerts or
sports events now have social or second screen components.

Worldwide Monthly Mobile

Data Usage
4000
3000
Megabytes per
User per
Month

2000
1000

Mobile data usage is expected to grow 20-fold

by 2017, according to Portio Research (2012).

Shipments of smartphones, the heavier users

of mobile data, are expected to grow from
694.8M units shipped in 2012 to 1,342.5M units
shipped in 2016, accounting for slightly over
51% of the mobile device market. (Canalys,
February 2013)

2015

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

Source: Portio Research (2012)

2012 Mobile Device

Shipments
6%

11%

36%

2016 Mobile Device

Shipments

Basic phone

1% 6%

Feature phone
40%

15%

7% 0%

25%

Smartphone
Tablet

2%

51%

Basic phone
Feature phone
Smartphone
Tablet

Notebook

Notebook

Netbook

Netbook

Source: Canalys (February 2013)

Increased demand is good for business but operators worldwide are now struggling to find networking
solutions to keep up with this increased demand for data capacity. While the boost in business
opportunities is good for the in-building ecosystem, the burgeoning workload creates its own problems
such as project coordination challenges, too much demand for finite resources and slimmer margins due

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iBwave Product Suite | White Paper

to increased competition. In order to grow, customers need to streamline processes and reduce project
life cycles by reducing time spent on administrative tasks.

There are typically three approaches operators can

take to increase capacity to varying degrees; add
spectrum, upgrade technology or improve the
topology. Adding spectrum and upgrading
technology are expensive options. They can even be
cost prohibitive when buying spectrum. Modifying
the topology and introducing multi-technology sites
to offload the macro system are more likely
solutions to increasing capacity. In a nutshell,
operaotrs need to take on more in-building projects
in order to increase capacity.

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CURRENT CHALLENGES
1. IN-BUILDING DATA IS SCATTERED AND DISORGANIZED
In-building network projects are becoming increasingly large in size and complexity. What started as
small systems of passive components feeding off the macro network have become large multitechnology and multi-sector systems composed of active and passive components covering everything
from cellular to Wi-Fi networks. The increasing complexity obviously introduces more documentation
and work collateral, often times resulting in deficient revision control and archiving processes. At
present, critical data needs to be stored and archived to facilitate consultation, metrics retrieval and
collaboration across the organization.
Traditional design platforms or processes implicate a large variety of disconnected tools. The lack of a
unified format and platform limit the possibilities for file sharing and collaboration, hence reducing
teamwork quality and knowledge transfer opportunities to cover for employee turnover. With RF
designers working on their computers locally with their own tools, the progress information of
projects and designs quickly becomes scattered and valuable data is often misplaced or simply lost,
with some customers reporting losing up to 30% of past project data due to negligence. Considering
the sizes of current in-building network projects, there are often many different teams involved in the
design, installation and commissioning of such large scale deployments. These resources all need to
have access to the design data at various stages in the project and it is important that each person has
access to the latest project designs and data, with the option of looking up historical design
information. Furthermore, with the rapid evolution of wireless technology and capacity needs, projects
and sites often need to be maintained or upgraded to new technologies. Having a central location
detailing historical data relating to a site allows for quicker project kick start and deployment times,
helping customers lower costs by reducing overall project time.

2. PROJECT LEADS LACK TOOLS TO TRACK PROGRESS

With the growing amount and scale of current in-building projects, it can get complicated to
synthesize all the available data in order to get a high-level view of an organizations operations. This
can be problematic because in order to prevent critical roadblocks or redoing work due to mistakes,
management and project managers require a centralized view of a companys ongoing projects,
allowing for a holistic view of the companys in-building activities. They need to possess the tools to
identify problems early and readjust quickly, ultimately saving costs and time in the long run.

3. LACK OF BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES CAUSES INEFFICIENCIES

When using ad-hoc project processes, the main drawbacks are the potential for errors and the added
complexity during the review process. Modern in-building projects are much more sensitive to minute
design variations and precise design guidelines are needed to deliver high quality compliant projects.
In addition, the absence of best practice guidelines and the lack of homogeneous tool outputs renders
comparing in-building projects challenging due to the lack of comparable metrics. Finally, the lack of

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standard processes makes training new resources difficult, reducing the efficiency of the existing
staff.

4. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COLLABORATION IS TEDIOUS

Collaboration for an in-building project now involves many contributors, including external partners,
and requires better communication and sharing features to ensure rapid quality project delivery.
Separate companies working on a neutral host site will want to be able to share operator deployment
requirements, company design templates and component requirements with all players involved.
Sharing information between different organizations or companies working on the same project is
never simple, with IT limitations and non-compatible working environments being the main obstacles.
This is in addition to the basic challenge of having disconnected teams collaborating on multiple
projects with many contributors using their own tools.

5. RESOURCE UTILIZATION IS NOT OPTIMIZED

RF engineers are valuable resources and their time is precious. They are often the focal points of inbuilding projects so are therefore highly solicited for questions, data and reports. Having a tool to
automate some or all of these tasks can free them up to work on other projects, increasing the
customers project turnover. Automation also addresses another huge challenge of in-building
projects, which is the possibility for human error due to the large complexity of new in-building
networks. Using a tool to automate tasks helps optimize resource utilization, increasing efficiency.

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iBwave Product Suite | White Paper

iBwave VALUE PROPOSITION

iBwave is one of the first companies to recognize the demand for integrated software to expedite indoor
systems design and deployment. With a team of experienced RF engineers, the company develops a full
suite of products that standardizes, streamlines and manages the in-building wireless project life cycle.
The product suite includes an RF planning tool, a mobile application for site survey activities, and a
management platform, all integrated in a seamless environment that ensures the persistence of project
information over time, increases collaboration and improves productivity. Overall, it increases project
quality, reduces cost and accelerates time to market.

1. iBwave UNITY
iBwave Unity is an in-building wireless management platform that aggregates and standardizes all
IBW project information and ensures data persistence. It helps control and reduce costs, accelerates
time to market, while increasing project delivery quality by managing all the customer organizations
IBW projects in one standardized, globally collaborative and secure environment. It offers advanced
data mining and reporting capabilities that allow the dissemination of IBW business intelligence
across the organization through a single web interface. The list of features includes:
A central repository to store all in-building project documents including iBwave Design files and
all other related documents such as floor plans, AutoCAD files, contracts, and more, in a secured
central repository
A web interface accessible via either personal computer or mobile device that provides access
and disseminates real-time in-building intelligence across the organization
A workflow management framework to track and control costs, resources and schedules for inbuilding projects, providing full visibility for on-going projects, including the ability to identify
bottlenecks, allowing for real-time adjustments
Predefined and customizable reports that deliver instant access to network, technical and financial data for unprecedented visibility and control across the in-building project portfolio
A robust API interface that extends the functionality of the Unity platform by exchanging inbuilding information with the customer organizations ERP, finance, asset management or other
business applications
New features will continue to complement iBwave Unitys functionality in the near term, including
features such as project compliance, key performance indicators, data mining, an external
interface for subcontractors and partners, and enriched functionality to the Workflow Module.

2. iBwave DESIGN
iBwave Design is the leading software to automate in-building design planning activities. It takes the
user through network planning, design, costing, validation, documentation and reporting, delivering
top network performance, reducing capital expenditure and increasing productivity. The tool allows
RF engineers to keep pace with new technologies including 3G and 4G (LTE, WiMax), Wi-Fi, Tetra,
Zigbee, and with the latest deployment architectures such as fiber DAS and small cells. The list of
features includes:

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Network architectures with automated RF calculations for 2G, 3G, 4G (LTE, WiMax) cellular
technologies as well as Wi-Fi, public safety bands and more
A comprehensive database with over 10,000 network components from industry-leading
manufacturers
The ability to import floor plans imported from AutoCAD and PDF with the location of all
equipment and cable routes
Full set of reports including link budget, BOM, project cost and electromagnetic compliancy limits
Ray-tracing based propagation simulation with detailed network performance plots for coverage,
throughput and capacity
Integration with leading outdoor planning and survey measurement tools for accurate
interference modeling

3. iBwave MOBILE
The iBwave Mobile application is the perfect companion for the field team performing survey activities
and installation work. It transforms smartphones and tablets into tools for assessing project
information, collecting building information and creating as-built documentation. The list of features
includes:
Access to project design information including trunking diagrams, floor plans, equipment location
and cable routes
Ability to attach text, pictures, videos and audio notes directly to building floor plans
Editing features to update antenna location and cable routes as well as create as-built
documentation reflecting the final installation configuration

4. INTEGRATED PORTFOLIO
All three iBwave products are seamlessly integrated to facilitate the collaboration between
departments and with external partners. iBwave Design and iBwave Mobile are directly connected to
the iBwave server and offer functionalities to save, load projects and control versioning and access
rights. Once a project created in iBwave is stored in Unity, the specifications of the venue (BOM, floor
plans, design architecture, technologies supported) are made available to everyone involved through
the web interface and this information is combined with the rest of the projects for the generation of
dashboards and KPIs on the overall network and project deployment process.

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iBwave Product Suite | White Paper

PRODUCTIVITY GAINS AND COST BENEFITS

1. INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY
Working with an integrated environment eliminates extra work by generating complete
documentation for an in-building project (link budget, prediction maps, bill of materials, EMF reports).
Users can create DAS designs in minutes by interconnecting components picked from the iBwave
Database of over 10,000 components. Up to 50% of the IBS design time can be saved when compared
to ad-hoc design methods.
iBwave Design allows full performance simulations of wireless networks with coverage, throughput
and capacity results, reducing the need for expensive site surveys. Network validation and advanced
calculations are done automatically in iBwave Design, which dramatically reduces the number of
errors and surprises during the installation. Most of the optimization work can be done with the
software without costly interventions. It can help cut down site visit activities by 20 to 30%, which
results in shorter project life cycles and a reduction in expenses.
Collaborating and storing all project information in iBwave Unity ensure that the valuable data about
past deployments is secured and not lost over time. This eliminates the overhead tasks of looking for
project information needed to upgrade sites to new technologies. In some cases, it can even eliminate
the overhead of recreating designs completely because the information cannot be found anymore. The
platform also increases the overall productivity of the teams involved by facilitating the exchange of
information and providing access to information in real time.

2. REDUCE MANAGEMENT OVERHEAD

Managing and centralizing all in-building activities around iBwave reduces the management overhead
involved with the coordination of all parties taking part in a project. Reports typically requested by the
management, procurement and installation teams are generated automatically in iBwave Design and
iBwave Unity. This allows the RF team to focus their valuable time on design activities. Furthermore,
many of the overhead coordination activities of projects are automated in Unity, with automatic project
status updates and project dashboards generated for ongoing projects and tasks. At any time, project
managers can view which projects are delayed, over budget, potential bottlenecks and the availability
of resources. The number of meetings and emails for coordination purposes can practically be
eliminated.
iBwave Unity also facilitates communication between all parties involved by providing a framework to
exchange files and project information. Once stored in the platform, project information can be
accessedd seamlessly by users from iBwave Design, iBwave Mobile or the Unity Web interface. No
need for complex information exchanges through email and FTP connections. Information is always
available at the right time from anywhere and the user is always guaranteed to work with the latest
project files. In addition, teams adopting the iBwave standard can focus their time on the right
activities and gain productivity.

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3. CONTROL COSTS AND CAPITAL EXPENDITURES

The iBwave product suite allows network operators and system integrators to track and control
project cost information through the life cycle of a project from the business case to the
commissioning phase. iBwave Design can create an output of bill of materials based on the design,
allowing for an accurate estimate of costs for equipment and installation needs. In Unity, project cost
information can be documented and tracked for each phase of a project and provides the ability to
generate reports and statistics over time , giving customers tools to better select contractors based
on their past performances. It also facilitates better estimation of project costs for future projects of
similar venue types or network architecture.
In addition, iBwave Design lets users simulate the network before it is actually deployed. The RF
engineers can create various network scenarios and run them against performance criteria agreed on
for the venue while using automated functions included in the software to optimize hardware for the
most cost-efficient design. This helps prevent overbuilding and avoids extra costs.

4. ENSURE PROJECT QUALITY AND REDUCE CHURN RATE

Network validation and advanced calculations allows users to verify the soundness of their
assumptions through error checking, compliance verification and uplink and downlink calculations.
The user can design an in-building network for specific voice and data applications with specified
reliability criteria in order to deliver performance that will impress and retain subscribers. Also,
seamless integration with outdoor prediction and survey measurement tools allows users to build
network infrastructure that will seamlessly integrate with its environment, with interference reduced
to the minimum. By working with a common framework and tool automation, customers of iBwave
have reported that the number of errors at the design phase have dropped by more than 90%.
Better coordination and communication between all parties involved in in-building projects combined
with the right set of tools results in higher quality for systems deployed and a reduction in system
failures. It also provides the operation teams with complete and up-to-date documentation about
existing deployments, which allows them to quickly locate point of failure equipment. This reduces the
downtime for maintenance and support activities.

5. REDUCE PROJECT ACCEPTANCE CYCLE

The operator and manufacturer-agnostic qualities of iBwaves tools increase the credibility of its
designs. Using iBwave Design and Unity to demonstrate to building owners, before deployment, the
best topology to achieve the desired objectives, allowing iBwave customers to shorten the project
acceptance cycle by proposing a trusted impartial design.

6. REDUCE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

The centralized approach offered by iBwave offers a unique advantage from an ecological standpoint.
With many large global companies implementing green policies, there are distinct ecological and cost
saving opportunities associated to electronically archiving past designs and collateral, eliminating the
need to store and archive paperwork, thus reducing the ecological footprint of the company. iBwaves
tools allows for the customer to save on documentation and storage space costs while dramatically
reducing the usage of paper.

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With iBwave Mobile, site surveys are completed quickly and efficiently by transforming smartphones
and tablets into tools for accessing project information, collecting building information and suggesting
design modifications. This handy app eliminates the need for additional site surveys, therefore
reducing travel and its ecological implications.

7. CONCLUSION
Having seen the benefits, reduction of costs and increases in quality, many Tier-1 operators around
the world have standardized their ecosystem on the iBwave platform. By using the integrated iBwave
portfolio over hundreds of deployments, operators and system integrators have reported reducing
their overall project deployment life cycles by over 30%, while gaining full visibility on their project
timelines, resources and expenses.

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CONCLUSION
iBwaves integrated product suite enables its customers to save time from daily tasks with regards to
their in-building projects. On an individual level, the time savings may seem small per week but when
multiplied across all users in the organization, the time and money savings can be tremendous.
iBwaves return on investment/total cost of ownership analysis tool has demonstrated savings of
between 30% to 35% per year, with payback within a year for operators migrating to iBwaves
integrated product suite. The following chart shows the estimated cost savings per year using
iBwaves products and strong gains are anticipated in all phases of the in-building process.

Figure 1: Savings per year using iBwave's integrated product suite

With product suite deployments around the world and the backing of a multi-disciplinary team of
experts and professionals constantly validating and improving the performance of its products,
iBwave is confident that its prospective clients businesses can quickly realize significant benefits
during the lifecycle of existing in-building sites or through the deployment of new ones with the
acquisition and implementation of its product suite.

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iBwave Solutions Inc.

T +1 514 397 0606
F +1 514 409 2499
7075, Robert-Joncas, Suite 95
Montreal, Qc H4M 2Z2 Canada
info@ibwave.com
www.ibwave.com